A Twisted Romance
by kitkat005
Summary: After Elena Gilbert's parents die in a tragic car crash, she's sent to live with her Aunt Jenna in Mystic Falls. She soon becomes intertwined with the handsome and mysterious Salvatore brothers, who are drawn to Elena in strange ways she can only begin to make sense of. The brothers are gorgeous and seductive - but will the dangers of their true identities put an end to Elena?
1. Chapter 1

"What exactly do you think you're doing?"

"Huh?"

Elena Gilbert opened her eyes and blinked, the blurry image of her Aunt Jenna coming into focus. Jenna's long amber hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, and her green eyes stared at Elena disapprovingly from where she stood at the foot of the bed.

"Its 8:15! You're supposed to be at school in fifteen minutes!" Jenna sighed, walking over to Elena's dresser and opening the top drawer. She let out an exasperated sigh at the pile of unwashed, wrinkled clothes inside, then walked over to the closet, taking out a pink sundress Elena hadn't worn in years. "Put this on and come downstairs. You can't be late on your first day."

Elena rolled her eyes and tried to sink deeper underneath the covers. She had purposely not set her alarm this morning, hoping that she'd somehow sleep through the entire day and not have to go to school at all. This year she wouldn't just be The New Girl, she would also be That Girl Whose Parents Both Died. And she was dreading it.

The accident had happened during the spring. Elena counted the weeks on her fingers. It was hard to believe that less than a year ago everything had been normal. She, her younger brother Jeremy, and their parents had been living together in Connecticut. She was in her junior year at high school, a striker on the soccer team, a top student, and even the class treasurer. She had had plenty of friends, a party to go to every weekend, and boys to text and hang out with whenever she'd wanted.

She still remembered the phone call. It had been late, probably around eleven at night. She had been at a party, surrounded by people and music, until the police officer on the other end of the line said something that made her ears start ringing so hard that everything else faded into the darkness: Your parents car flew off a bridge. Neither of them survived. I'm so sorry.

After that moment Elena stopped. She stopped everything. She didn't eat, she didn't sleep, she didn't talk. She wasn't even able to cry, not until weeks after the accident. Not until Aunt Jenna, the sister of Elena's mother, came to pick her and Jeremy up to come live with her and her husband Alaric in Mystic Falls, Virginia. Elena had seen her aunt in the doorway, saw how her amber eyes were exactly like her sisters, and she'd just collapsed.

"Its good that you're getting these emotions out." This is what Dr. Brunswick, the therapist Aunt Jenna had made her see over the summer, had told her. "You need to be able to express yourself." He tried to get Elena to journal, to paint, to draw, to do anything other than sit in her room and stare at old photographs. But she refused. The only time she took a real interest in therapy was when she tried to use it as a tool to get out of going to Mystic Falls High for her senior year.

"I just don't feel comfortable going." She insisted to Dr. Brunswick. "School reminds me of the accident. I can't go." She had finished the rest of her junior year courses online. Maybe she could do the same thing for senior year.

"Elena," The Dr. had lowered his glasses and looked at her with his familiar dark eyes. "I know you better than you think. You're scared, but this is something you need to do. You can't hide for the rest of your life."

Elena had tried. She really had. But Jenna and Brunswick had all but insisted, and she here she was, standing in front of her mirror on the first day of school, wanting nothing more than to go back to bed.

She picked up the summery pink dress. The last time she'd worn it had been a neighborhood barbeque back in Connecticut. When she held the dress up to her body, she could picture that day perfectly. Her mother's hand on her shoulder, her father's warm laugh echoing from across the yard, the sun on her hair. She tossed the dress aside. Maybe some day. But not today. Not yet.

Ten minutes later, Elena was rushing out the door to her car, dressed in a pair of old jeans and a tee shirt. She sighed when the reached the school parking lot and a swarm of girls her age walked in front of her car, all of them wearing cute skirts and colorful tank tops. Maybe she should've worn the dress after all. Now not only would people think she was weird, they would think she was a slob. She sighed and pulled her hair into a ponytail. Too late to change now.

"Wait here." The woman in the main office told her. "Your tour guide is Caroline Forbes. She should be arriving any moment."

Elena nodded and slid down into one of the large leather chairs in the school office. She had to admit, for a high school this place was pretty nice. It had a lobby full of windows and glistening white tile floors. Elena's high school back in Connecticut had been different. More . . . homey. And people certainly didn't dress the way they did here, she thought as she watched a slender blonde girl enter the office wearing a pink flared skirt and a matching white and pink sweater.

"I'm looking for Elena Gilbert." The blonde girl told the woman at the front desk. Elena jumped when she heard her name.

"Right over there," The woman gestured to Elena, and the blonde girl turned with a huge smile on her face.

"Hi! I'm Caroline Forbes, your tour guide! Welcome to MFH!" She extended a tanned, perfectly manicured hand, and Elena shook it, thinking that her pale, thin fingers looked like a zombie's next to Caroline's.

"Where should we start?" Caroline asked, leading Elena out of the office. "The cafeteria? Did you eat breakfast? You know, they always have muffins and cereal if you didn't. People hate on cafeteria food all the time but ours is pretty good. I love breakfast food! Don't you?"

"Sure." Elena replied weakly, not sure which part of Caroline's spiel she was addressing.

"Awesome!" Caroline pulled open the door to the cafeteria and stepped in. Like the rest of the school, it was a spacious white room, except it was crammed with tables and noisy students. Caroline walked over to a table in the center of the room full of what Elena assumed to be senior girls.

"Come meet everybody!" Caroline chirped. "This is Missy, Isabelle, Bonnie, Kate, Liza, Delaney, and Taylor! Everybody, this is Elena, the girl I'm showing around." The girls waved and smiled at Elena, who suddenly felt her face grow hot. She hadn't been shy in the least at her old school, but now it had been months since she'd talked to people her own age. She tried to muster up a smile.

"Come on, sit down." Caroline pushed aside a few backpacks to make room for her and Elena on the bench.

"How was Naples?" One of the girls asked Caroline.

"God, it was amazing!" Caroline beamed. "I met the sexiest lifeguard and we hung out all week. I have pictures. I'll show you later." She winked.

Boys. Elena thought. It had been months since she'd even spoken to one, not counting Jeremy. In Connecticut, she'd had a serious boyfriend, Matt. They had dated for almost two years. But things fell apart when her parents died. Elena hadn't wanted to talk to anyone, including him, and eventually he just got fed up with it. She hadn't seen him since they'd had their last fight and he'd stormed out of her house. Thinking about it made her stomach turn.

"So, Elena, what did you do this summer?" Caroline's voice forced her to bring her attention back to the table. "God, you're so pale! It looks like you were working in an office the whole time or something!"

Elena winced, wishing now more than ever that she had worn the pink summer dress. Maybe then the fact that she had stayed inside crying all summer would be less obvious.

"Caroline!" One of the other girls shook her head. "Don't be rude. You look fine, Elena." It was the pretty dark skinned girl who spoke – had Caroline introduced her as Bonnie? Elena shot her a quick, shy smile.

"Oh gosh, I didn't mean it like that!" Caroline looked genuinely sorry. "I'm serious Elena, you're like, so pretty. You have great bone structure."

Elena felt her face growing hot again. "Thanks."

"So, are you planning on joining anything at school?" Caroline asked. "Have your parents gotten the mail invitation for the Fall Dance yet? It's a huge thing at our school."

"My parents are dead." Elena said, then immediately regretted it, because Caroline's face fell and she started to apologize all over again. The rest of the girls looked up from their phones and textbooks and Elena could see the pity forming in their eyes.

"Its fine, its fine, seriously." She stammered. Her gaze floated above the girl's heads and she spotted a boy walking into the cafeteria. He was tall and broad, definitely a senior, with light golden brown hair, dark eyes, and skin almost as pale as hers. "Whose that?" She asked, both out of curiosity and a desperate attempt to change the subject. She gestured to the boy with her hand.

Caroline's expression immediately changed from one of remorse to a saucy grin. "That is Stefan Salvatore. Isn't he gorgeous?"

"If you think he's gorgeous, you should see his brother." Another girl – Liza? - chimed in. "His name is Damon, and he's 21. They're super loaded, but nobody knows how or why. Supposedly Damon works in the oil business or something. Anyways, they live together in this big mansion on Brookwater Street."

"Brookwater Street? That's where I live." Elena frowned. She couldn't think of a time she'd ever seen Stefan around over the summer. She would've remembered. And from Liza's description of Damon, it sounded like she would've remembered him too.

"Big white house? Black shutters?" Taylor asked.

"I think so. There's a house just like that on the corner of my street." Elena nodded.

"No way!" Caroline grinned. "You should definitely have us all over some time."

"I wish." Delaney sighed. "He'd probably have a two minute conversation with us about the biology homework then disappear."

Elena frowned. "So none of you have ever . . .?"

"Gotten with him?" Caroline asked. "Hell no. He's unattainable. Nice to look at, but not much else."

"He's sort of quiet. Very serious." Bonnie offered. "And kind of mysterious. He and his brother showed up here halfway through last year, and he never tried to make friends or get involved in anything. And he doesn't seemed interested in any of the girls here either."

"Huh." Elena bit her lip, slightly disappointed. This boy was the first person who'd piqued her interest in months, and now he was unattainable. Perfect.

Just then a bell sounded and everybody started getting up and gathering their things. "Come on," Caroline linked her arm with Elena's. "I'll show you to your first class. Physics, right?"

Elena checked her schedule. "Yup." She reached down to grab her backpack when suddenly she felt a pair of eyes on her. Glancing upwards, she saw Stefan Salvatore, sitting at an empty table about twenty feet away, staring at her. And he looked . . . angry. Elena was taken aback. She quickly grabbed her back and slung it over her shoulder, and by the time she had looked away and looked back again, Stefan was gone.

The rest of the day passed quickly. Elena's classes seemed easy for the most part, and a lot of the students were friendly to her. When the final bell rang, though, she couldn't deny that she was happy to be returning home. This was a lot less alone time than she was used to getting.

She stopped to use the bathroom, which had a ridiculously long line, and by the time she was finished the hallways were cleared. Elena quickly realized that she was on the fourth floor and she had no idea how to get to the parking lot. She grabbed her bag and descended the nearest staircase, figuring that eventually she would find her way out.

It was a narrow side staircase that was completely empty, and Elena made her way slowly down the steps, one hand dangling idly off the railing. She was almost at the landing when she felt the wind knocked out of her from behind. She flew forward and slammed into the wall before crumping into a heap at the floor.

Elena let out a loud, piercing scream as she felt two hands binding her wrists together. Her vision was blurred from the fall, but when she was able to make sense of what was in front of her, she saw Stefan Salvatore's angry face just inches away.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He hissed. His voice was different than what Elena would have expected. It was deep, but it had a softer edge to it, even though he was snarling in her face. But she didn't have time to think about those things now.

"W-what?" She sputtered. "Let go of me!" Her mind flashed back to the conversation in the cafeteria. He's mysterious, Bonnie had said. Mysterious? More like a complete psychopath! Who was this guy, and why was he attacking her in the middle of the school staircase? "Let GO!" Elena cried again. "What is wrong with you?"

"Shut up!" Stefan dug his fingers into her wrists. He was kneeling on the floor in front of her, using his knees to hold her down. He was incredibly strong. Elena was pushing with all her might but she couldn't even make her budge. "I asked what the fuck you were doing here? I thought we had an agreement! So what the FUCK are you doing here?"

"I've never spoken to you before in my life!" Elena yelled back. "Now let go of me!" She gave him another push, but to no avail. "HELP!" She began screaming. "HELP ME! HELP!"

A firm hand came down over her mouth. "Shut UP, Katherine! Shut the fuck up or I'll stake you! I swear to GOD I will!"

Elena squirmed against his hand. "WHO IS KATHERINE?" She yelled. "LET ME GO! I DON'T KNOW YOU! YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG PERSON!"

These words seemed to make Stefan falter, if only slightly. He loosed his grip on her wrists and sat back, still holding her down, but most hesitant now. "Shut up. Shut up, shut up. Stop playing your fucking mind games again. Shut up." But his eyes were darting back and forth across her face.

"I swear to god I have no idea who you are or what you're talking about." Elena gasped; finally able to breath now that he had taken his knees off her chest. "I'm Elena Gilbert. It's my first day here. Before today I'd never seen you before in my life." She realized there was blood coming out of her mouth, a warm, thick wetness spewing across her cheek and into her hair.

"Oh my god." Stefan sat back and removed his hands from her completely. "I . . . I don't understand. Who are you?"

Elena lay on the ground panting, her head throbbing too much for her to try to move. "Elena Gilbert." She gasped. "I'm Elena Gilbert."

"Shit. But you look just like her. How are you not-? Shit. Shit." Stefan's was reflecting emotions a mile a minute. While he continued to mumble to himself, Elena was coming to her senses and began to scrape herself up from the floor. She had no idea what had just happened, but she knew one thing for sure: Stefan was dangerous, and she needed to get away from him.

"Wait!" Stefan grabbed her arm. "You can't go anywhere. You can't tell anybody about this."

Elena yanked her arm away. "You're a psychopath. Touch me again and I'll scream." She scuttled towards the staircase, her heart pounding. Her legs felt like jelly. Could she even climb the stairs? What if Stefan attacked her again?

"Wait!" Stefan yelled again, jumping in front of her and blocking her way. Elena flinched, shielding her face with her hands.

Stefan held up his palms. "I wont hurt you." He insisted. "I promise. But you can't tell anybody about this. You have to . . ." He trailed off, as if deciding something in his head. "You have to come with me." He said finally.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Elena shrieked. "Let me go!" She wished the school wasn't so deserted – was there nobody around to hear her screams?

"Elena!" Stefan said firmly. "You have to come with me. I'm very sorry for what I just did. I thought you were somebody else, and believe me, she would have deserved that. But you didn't. And I don't know how I can make you understand. But you have to come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Elena repeated.

"Come on." Stefan gestured to her bloody face and clothes. "You can't go home like this. What will Jenna and Alaric think?"

Elena froze. "How do you know my family?"

"We're, uh, neighbors." Stefan said sheepishly. "I just realized it now. I'd been seeing glimpses of her – of you, all summer. I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me, seeing her when she wasn't there. But it was you. The whole time. And you're not her."

"I'm not who?" Elena asked, understanding nothing.

"I'll explain." Stefan said. "Just come with me and I'll explain. I'm not going to hurt you. I'll treat your cut and I'll explain everything. I promise."

Elena was torn. On one hand, she didn't want to go anywhere with Stefan. His tone seemed earnest, but he had attacked her. And this girl he thought she was – Katherine – what could she have done to deserve that? The entire situation was odd and downright scary.

But Stefan was right. She couldn't go home like this. She knew that Jenna had been worried about her all summer, and coming home beat up like this would send her into full on panic mode. Elena would never get another moment alone until she graduated. Plus, Elena wasn't even sure she could make it home in his condition.

So she let Stefan hoist her bruised body into his arms and carry her out the back entrance. "Nobody will see us here." He promised. He gently laid her in the back of his car, and the last memory Elena had before she blacked out was the image of his profile as he started up the engine.

"I'm so sorry for doing this to you, Elena. I really am." His voice was barely above a whisper, and then everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hello beautiful."

Elena slowly opened her eyes. Her face felt swollen and sore, and it took her a moment to remember the source of the throbbing pain in her head. Then it all came flashing back to her. Stefan. The staircase. Him convincing her to come with him.

Oh, God.

Why oh why had she ever agreed to that?

Elena shut her eyes again in an attempt to block out the pain, hoping that maybe when she opened them for a second time she would be safe at home instead of lying on a strange leather couch in a huge, unfamiliar living room filled with dark wood panels and ancient looking books. She heard a chuckling sound coming from somewhere behind her and suddenly remembered that someone had spoken just moments before. Wheeling herself up into a sitting position, she whirled around and came face to face with a tall, dark haired young man with striking cheekbones and blue eyes. She knew immediately that this must be Damon Salvatore, the brother that Caroline's friends had mentioned at lunch. Already that conversation seemed so far away – how had school taken such an awful turn on just the first day?

Damon extended a hand, offering only his name in a low, mischievous drawl as an introduction. Out of habit, Elena automatically reached out to take his hand, and when she did he grasped her small, pale fingers in his in an extremely firm shake. She winced – even her fingers hurt from the damage Stefan had done – and pulled her arm away, falling faintly back onto the couch.

"Where's Stefan?" She asked. Her voice sounded weak and pitiful, like that of a young girl.

Damon let out another chuckle and reached for a glass and a bottle of brandy on a nearby shelf. "Stefan had to step out for a moment. But don't worry, I'll entertain you. Want a drink?" He gestured to the glass, a smirk on his face.

Elena balked. "Stefan physically assaulted me this afternoon. I can press charges. Now either tell me where he is or let me go, or else I'll-"

"Or else you'll what?" Damon had pulled a chair up to face the couch and sat down, but he'd done it so fast that Elena jumped when she realized he was right in front of her. "You have no cell phone, nobody here to help you, and no way of getting by me. Looks like we're stuck here together, so we might as well make the most of it." There was a grin on Damon's face and a joking lilt to his words, but the dark expression in his eyes when he handed Elena the glass of whisky sent a clear message: Make no mistake. I am just as dangerous as my brother, and I won't hesitate to hurt you if you don't do as I say.

Elena took the glass with shaking hands.

"Drink up." Damon noticed her hesitant glance at the shimmering golden brown liquid. "Its not poison. If I wanted you dead, I would have done it already when you were passed out."

Elena took a tentative sip, but when the dark liquor hit her tongue she gagged at its bitter taste, quickly spitting the liquid back up into the cup. She hadn't drank alcohol in months, and even when she used to party she was more of a Mikes Hard Lemonade girl.

Damon eyed her amusedly, but before he could say anything, Elena interjected.

"Who is Katherine?"

Damon blinked. "How do you know about her?"

"Stefan called me Katherine." Elena said. "He told me that he thought I was her, and that she deserved what he did to me. That it was meant for her."

Damon looked uneasy. He titled his own glass back and downed the contents in one quick, smooth action. "We don't need to talk about her."

"I want to know." Elena protested. "After this, I deserve to know."

Something flashed behind Damon's eyes. "Trust me," He said, his tone icy. "You don't want any part in this. Stefan went to get you vervain, something that's going to heal your wounds quicker than you could ever imagine. You'll go home tonight and nobody will ever know that this happened. You'll forget about it yourself. And if you know what's good for you, you'll never, ever get involved with me or my brother again."

"What do you mean I'll forget it myself?"

Just then the lock shifted on the door to the living room, and Stefan appeared, carrying a small black bottle under his arm. His grey eyes quickly surveyed the scene, settling on Elena.

"You're awake."

"Yes." Elena said.

"I was just telling her about how she's going to forget everything after this." Damon turned to look at his brother.

"An essential part of the process." There was a hint of dry humor in Stefan's voice as he crossed the room to sit next to Elena on the couch. He twisted open the black bottle and reached for Elena's drink.

"May I?"

Elena handed him the glass, wondering what he could possibly be giving her to heal her wounds. What did the Salvatore's have access to that doctors or nurses didn't? Stefan poured a clear liquid into the cup and handed it back to Elena.

"Drink up." Damon said.

Elena stared at the cup. "You can't seriously expect me to drink this." She looked up at the brothers. "Haven't you ever heard of roofies? Date rape? Poison? I'm not going to-"

A firm hand clamped down on her shoulder. Damon had moved from his chair to sit on the other side of her, again so quickly that Elena jumped when she felt his touch. He leaned in until his face was inches from hers.

"You will drink this, or else I will force it down your throat." He said, his voice eerily calm. "Easy way or hard way. Your pick."

Elena gulped. There was no doubt her in her mind that he was telling the truth. Slowly, she brought the cup to her lips and inhaled the scent of the whisky. Then, she poured the drink down her throat. Just as before, its bitterness burned in her mouth, but this time, she forced herself not to gag, afraid of what Damon might do if she failed to get it down.

"Good girl." Damon gave her shoulder a reassuring pat.

"Now just wait." Stefan said.

Elena shivered, then a warmth ran through her body. The throbbing in her head slowly softened until it was gone completely. She felt the hot, swollen flesh on her face cool, and after a few moments her joints no longer felt bruised and battered. Even the tiny scrapes on her arms faded away, as if like magic.

"What? How did you-? What just-?"

"Relax." Stefan said. The edge was gone from his voice now, and he himself looked more at ease. He put a hand on Elena's shoulder and looked deeply into her eyes, his grey pupils seemingly hypnotizing hers with their dance of color and light.

"You will forget this entire afternoon ever happened." His breath was cool and sweet on her face. "You will forget ever speaking to me, and ever meeting my brother. If anybody asks you what you did this afternoon, you'll say that you went directly home and spoke to no one on your way there." After speaking these words, he sat back, as if satisfied.

Elena jerked away. "What are you talking about?"

Stefan frowned. "Do you know where you are, Elena?"

"What did you put in my drink?"

Stefan and Damon exchanged looks above Elena's head. "You try." Stefan said.

Damon grabbed Elena's jaw and forced her to look in his eyes. "You will remember nothing about this afternoon." He said.

Elena jerked her face away again. "Stop it!" She yelled. "Tell me what you put in my drink! How did you make me heal like that? Tell me right now!"

"She can't be compelled." Stefan sounded shocked. "How is that poss-"

"Its not." Damon grabbed Elena's chin again. "Look at me!" He hissed. "You will forget everything-" Elena again squirmed away from his touch. "Hold her down!" Damon barked, and suddenly Stefan's strong arms were on top of Elena pushing her down into the couch.

"We don't want to hurt you, Elena." He said, and there was a pain in his eyes as he held her down. "We're doing this for you. We're just trying to make your life go back to normal."

Damon's face replaced Stefan's above her. His intense blue eyes fixated on Elena's, and again he spoke. "You will forget everything about today. You will forget ever meeting my brother and me. You tell everybody you went directly home after school."

A beat passed. Elena finally stopped struggling, letting her body lie limp on the couch.

Stefan loosened his grip on her shoulders. "Did it work?"

"Elena?" Damon's tone was cautious. "Do you know who I am?"

"Damon Salvatore." Elena spat the words up into his face. "Now TELL ME WHAT YOU PUT IN MY DRINK!"

"Shit!" Stefan leaped up and began pacing the room at a frantic, angry pace. "Shit, shit, shit. How is this possible?"

"She can't be compelled!" Damon sounded just as bewildered as his brother. "You think its because she's really Katherine's doppelganger?"

Stefan shook his head frustratedly. "There's no way. That's practically an urban myth."

"Well why else wouldn't we be able to compel her? And now what the fuck do we do with her?"

Stefan put his head in his hands. "I've got no idea."

"Let me leave!" Elena cried, jumping up from the couch and making a beeline for the door. Damon's arms caught her from behind before she had even gone two feet, and he pushed her back down into the couch. Tears welled up in Elena's eyes, the emotional exhaustion from the day finally getting to her. "Please let me go." She sobbed. "I won't tell anybody what happened. I promise. Just let me go home."

The Salvatore's again exchanged looks. "We can't let you do that." Stefan sounded genuinely sorry.

"My aunt!" Elena cried. "And her husband Alaric! And my friends! They'll notice when I don't come home tonight! They'll come looking for me!"

"She has a point." Stefan said.

Damon gritted his teeth. "What if she opens her mouth and starts talking?"

Stefan walked over to the couch and kneeled down in front of Elena until his eyes were level with hers. "Elena, you have to promise me." he said, "You can't breath a word of this to anybody."

Damon appeared behind his brother, eyes narrow. "You say anything," he snarled, "and we WILL find your family and hurt them."

A shiver ran down Elena's spine. The tears were drying on her face. "I won't say anything. I won't. I promise." She breathed, looking back and forth between the two faces, Stefan's pleading and pained, Damon's threatening and cold. "Please just let me go."

The brothers exchanged a long glance, then Damon finally gave a curt nod. "Show her the door."

Stefan gently took Elena's arm and led her out of the living room into a large foyer. He opened the foreboding wooden door, and a rush of cool night air blew into the house. It was dark outside, the stars poking their way through the desolate blanket of night sky. Elena shuddered and turned to leave.

"I'm really sorry about this, Elena." Stefan called after her as she made her way down the stone pathway and out onto the street. "I'm sorry this happened to you."

Elena didn't look back, and moments later she heard the heavy wooden door creak closed behind her.


End file.
